Matty G’s Marinara Sauce

One of Dusty’s best friends, Matty G, is Italian and grew up on Long Island, NY with a Mama that can cook! The first time Dusty went to visit Matty in NY, his mom made an incredible Frutti di Mare with fresh seafood that Dusty still talks about.

We are going back a ways now… we were in college, and it was our first Valentine’s dinner. Dusty wanted to cook for me, and he knew he wanted it to be edible. So, he asked Matty for help. They cooked chicken Parmesan with spaghetti and red sauce, then packed it up in a picnic basket so we could eat it at a park in Tulsa. I know so sweet, right… especially for a 21 year old boy!! It was the best spaghetti I had ever tasted, and we have been making it ever since. Thanks, Matty G!! 🙂

*The Chicken Parmesan is super yummy too… I will blog about it later.

Ingredients:

Many of these ingredients came from my GBCFC bounty.

2Tbls olive oil

1 diced white or yellow onion (Workman’s Farms… I will blog about this later)

4 15oz cans of tomato sauce (I used some tomato sauce that I canned… I will blog about this later)

1 full 15oz can of water

1/4 cup of red wine

Shake of Salt

1Tbls sugar

Instructions:

In a large pot heat up olive oil.

Add chopped onion to the pot and cook until it is clear.

Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add tomato paste.

Chop the basil and add to the pot. Add spices too. Stir in for about a minute, then add the sauce and water.

Stir occasionally until it all starts to boil, then add wine, salt and sugar (if you use a sweet red, you do not need to add sugar).

Let it boil for about 2 minutes, then turn on low and let it simmer for about an hour.

It is ready to serve over your favorite pasta!!

*I like to brown some of our ground beef and add a couple cups of sauce to it then serve it over pasta.

**I also add a dollop of ricotta cheese if I have it on hand… I learned this trick from a one of our favorite Reno restaurants, Campo.

***This is extra: These little thermal containers are awesome! I use them at least 3 times a week for the tinies’ lunches. I just heated up some left over spaghetti with sauce, and put it the in container… lunch done!!

****This red sauce freezes super well. I let the sauce cool down, and then I put it in freezer containers. It makes for an easy dinner down the road.